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Whaddya want from a conference? 86

Posted by Hemos from the why-do-we-go dept.
I've been corresponding with a gentleman recently about the various US-Linux conferences -(thebazaar, LinuxWorld, Atlanta Linux Showcase, and LinuxExpo)-what goes on? What do people want to do there? I'd like to open the discussion floor up to this-click below for more details.
So, we've been talking about what types of booths there are, what sessions there are, and what Birds-of-a-Feather sessions there are, and how often the show doesn't do what you want. That begs the question of what people are looking for? What do you want from a show?

And in the way of plugs, ALS is currently seeking sponsers for a huge LUG party down there, as well as for the speakers. So, if you are willing to contribute, or your company is, please step forward and help out. LinuxWorld has also exhibit-only badges can be registered for from their web site, for the Feb. NYC show. Update: 09/14 12:01 by H : Natalie Vercauteren from LinuxWorld asks to e-mail her with BOF proposals, if you want anything in particular at LinuxWorld NYC.
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Whaddya want from a conference? More

Whaddya want from a conference?

Comments Filter:
  • >Anyhow, when will there be a Linux show in the Pacific Northwest?

    Actually, PLUG in Portland, OR tried to start one this spring. Unfortunately a certain large corporation decided that the date picked would be a great date for LinuxWorld. :-( One reason you didn't hear much about it was that the people responsible were afraid that if they publicized it too early, another large corporation in Redmond would have a competing show at the same time.

    Since I haven't been to any PLUG meetings lately, I don't know if the movers for this show will try again. We can hope.


    Geoff
  • Wear jeans and a t-shirt and you won't stand out. Wear a suit and you will. If you're really trying to look professional, Business Casual.

    Chris
    --
    3rd Annual Atlanta Linux Showcase [linuxshowcase.org]

  • I agree. Presentation Notes can sometimes make up for being unable to attend a conference due to client commitments or cost.

    As a follow-up, if you are unable to attend a conference that you are truly interested in attending, contact the organizers. Most of them would be happy to ship (or sell) you a CD of the conference proceedings. I've tried this and have had about 70%-75% success.
  • I'll agree that free stuff is really cool, but I throw half of it away anyhow once I get home. I would have to say that the highlight of the last show I attended (Linuxworld San Jose) was meeting Linus T. face to face and watching R. Stallman boogey to techno music whilst drinking free beer ala /. I'm sure I'll loose all those free pens long before that image slides from memory...
  • I think a Linux conference should be like the Inprise/Borland Conference, more focused to the technical aspects than the marketing mumbo-jumbo. I think it is vital that Linux doesn't lose the technical stuff amid all this media frenzy. By all means let them pamper you, but don't give into going to all-marketing and no-techstuff events.

    Basically what they do is that they have different people from different consulting firms/book authors give talks that are very technically oriented... From 7:30AM-10pm (with an hour for lunch) it's so chock-full of technical sessions about specific applications of the technology (in this case would be all kinds of Linux technologies), and there is one or two specific "expositor days" specifically for people to actually go to the booths on the floor (which are available all the time anyway).

    At the end they give you a CD with all the papers/source code for all the sessions in all the tracks, to make up for the ones you missed (on the Inprise conference, there are so many sessions you can't possibly do them all).

    I learned more on the Borland conferences than I ever learned at school or enterprise courses, and I'd like to see Linux sessions like that.

    Imagine the "conference tracks" for a minute, along with the sessions you could write:

    • System Administration (large volume sendmail, nntp, management of huge networks, etc)
    • System Security
    • Programming - General (full tutorials on make, autoconf and things like that)
    • Programming - Languages (C, C++, Python, Java, LISP, etc)
    • Programming - Toolkits & Libs (GTK/Gnome, QT, lesstif, etc)
    • Using Linux for Business (Business Applications)
    • Web Authoring (Http, perl, PHP, etc)

    Wouldn't you like to attend something like this? Knowing that all the free stuff is still there and you can go see it now (forgoing your session) or wait until Wednesday?

    I know many conferences have technical sessions, but the way the Borland conferences emphasize going to the sessions instead of getting bugged by pushy salespeople all day makes you learn a lot more (and the AMOUNT of sessions they have! God!).

    Of course, there's also a party every night, so don't even think about sleeping. :-)

    Just my 2c

  • Well, actually we have our own Linux fairs (e.g. the annual LinuxTag [linuxtag.org]) and because of distances in Europe not being as big as in the US, it's ways easier than you thought. :-)

    I like especially the lectures about actual subjects which are held on every LinuxTag. They are splitted into subjects for beginners, users and developers. It's also nice to see your favourite OS running on all that exotic hardware and to meet a lot of more or less well known people.

    But the most important thing is to get new t-shirts [userfriendly.org]... ;-)

    Oh, and btw: There is no entry fee at all at LinuxTag... :-)

  • Not found on this server!

    No more I can't spell the name any better than when I first heard it.com?

    D

    ----
  • which pretty much means one here in Los Angeles.

    I hate to admit it, but I'm really cheap when it comes to travel :-(.

    D

    ----
  • There's no required dress code - there will be more people in tshirts and jeans than ties, however. Typically, if you're just going for the fun, a tshirt is fine. If you plan to do business dealings, wear business casual - khakis and a polo. If you're passing out resumes, wear a suit.

    Bring a jacket - it gets chilly in Atlanta in October.

    --
    Blake Sorensen
    Registration Coordinator,
    1999 Atlanta Linux Showcase
  • I've attended a number of technical conferences in the past. One of the most valuable conference experiences that I have had have been the two world wide GIS conferences put on by ESRI (the makers of a proprietary GIS).

    These shows provide a wide variety of experiences. They typically run a week with short opening and closing days for to allow for travel etc. The conference revolves around a huge vendor show with all of the typical stuff (freebies/free food/booze/marketing blah blah blah). An added bonus is the location (San Diego) which offers a number of other activities to keep you interested.

    The three most valuable parts of the show are:
    1) the attendees ability to take short (2-3 hour) training sessions that are streamed for different levels of technical ability (manager/new user/guru). These sessions are held throughout the week and their is a lot of duplication for the popular sessions so that you can organize your schedule to see them all.
    2) ability to meet directly with the developers/architects of the software to discuss problems face to face as well as getting the inside scoop on the future development direction of the software. Their is a "Dr.'s Office" where attendees can meet with support people and bring their own data/system to work through problems....very cool.
    3) meet with your peers and have a beer....the full emersion into the world of the technology is something that few of us get to do all the time.

    Linux conferences can be structured in a similar fashion. Offering more of a variety to more people. Unlike others I want more substance and more options rather than glitz and glam.
  • Well, ALS has all of that.
    www.linuxhshowcase.org [linuxshowcase.org]

    Three nights of BOFs

    65+ Vendors who know this is a technical audience

    The largest Technical conference track

    WIPs, and an introduction to Linux for people migrating from windows

    Chris
    (Yes, i'm one of the people running the thing)
    --
    3rd Annual Atlanta Linux Showcase [linuxshowcase.org]

  • We need some positive reinforcement or something like that.

  • Response from an ALS Organizer (Score:4)

    by bsorensen ( 7044 ) on Tuesday September 14, 1999 @02:47AM (#1683349) Homepage
    Reading through the comments, there's a lot of good info and suggestions out there. I especially like the idea of setting up the vendor meetings to ask 'What do you want?'. It's possibly too late to set that up for this year's ALS, but we can probably find space for any vendors who want to do that.

    Reading the other comments:
    To lots of people - sorry we can't help you with having a Linux show 'near where you live'. We're the Atlanta User's group putting this on. We may move it next year.

    Lots of people want to put names to faces - ALS is holding our annual fundraiser dinner as an 'Old Farts' roundtable with folks like Peter Salus, Maddog, and some of the others who've been part of the community forever.

    Lower prices: ALS is a not-for-profit show - our proceeds are donated to community groups, but we have to have proceeds to do this. We make our prices as low as we can and still afford the Conference Hall and putting up speakers. Tell your favorite Linux company to buy sponsorships.

    Non-Profit booths: We give out as many as we can and still pay for the Show Floor. We also offer discounts for educational or community groups. We are hosting or discounting the following groups this year:
    Debian
    FSF/Gnome
    Linux.com
    Linux International
    LinuxNewbie.org
    Linux Professional Institue
    Linux Today
    NetBSD
    Slashdot/Freshmeat
    Stampede
    Time City Project
    x.org
    Linux Fund

    BOFs: Lots of people want good BOFs - we have rooms set aside during the entire conference for anyone who wants to reserve one for a topic. Email me if you want to see a particular BOF added to the list. You don't need to be willing to get up and lecture - just let me know what topics you want to see.

    Technical Talks: With USENIX's help, we are trying to become a more technical show - we have several in-depth sessions this year. Check out the web page for info (www.linuxshowcase.org/conference/).
    Examples:
    -GTK programming for the Blind
    -Phone Based Email
    -Examination of the Pros/Cons of various distributions
    -Optimizing Linux Device Drivers
    -Mastering the GIMP
    -The Secure Filesystem

    We at ALS want to be a community focused technical show. We need feedback like this forum to enable us to do that - please contact me if you want to discuss any of these points further.

    --
    Blake Sorensen
    Registration Coordinator
    1999 Atlanta Linux Showcase


  • Someone needs to tell all those lonely woman looking for men to go to a Linux con, instead of the Valley. [salon.com]

    Or, if you prefer, the Slashdot link. [slashdot.org]

    George
  • 1) Hoping to find some new technique to make my system faster || more stable
    2) And, hope over experience of finding a cool "geek girl" (who should also be faster and/or stabler than previous models)
  • but just can't afford it.
    I came last year and brought 6 students
    with me. We all had a GREAT time!
    The program this year looks even more
    outstanding, what with the Usenix
    participation and all. I live in
    Central US and so attending this one
    is a more realistic option than going
    to CA or NY. However, I'm not interested
    in coming *just* for the free keynotes and
    floor show. I want to do the conference
    sessions (and tutorials). I really think more
    people would come for the conference if it were
    more affordable and I think the exhibitors
    would see a better return as well. Not that
    the free stuff is a bad idea. I just think
    the conference prices (not just yours) cut out
    too many people like me. I *really* regret
    that I cannot come this year.
  • What do I want?

    I'll tell you what I want, Mister Taco.

    I want free T-shirts, beer mugs, and stuffed penguins. I want a connection to check my email. I want a free (or up to $10) exhibits-only pass. I want to hang around the FSF booth listening to RMS tell reporters to say GNU/Linux, and playing with the latest versions of GNOME and Enlightenment. I want to go by the /. booth and annoy Rob and Hemos. I want a speech by Linus which is fiery, but dignified; elegant, but strong.

    I want it all back the way it once was... at the March Linux World in San Jose.

  • So far all we see during trade shows is a window manager with maybe a Netscape window. Why not show those quad Xeons doing something besides booting Netscape.
  • Its hell registering for this stuff if you don't work for anyone... Meanwhile, Free Stuff is good. And I'm glad this is coming to the Javits Center, now I might actually come...

  • In response to number four.

    I like an Industry feel. Industry is what drives this world, and an Industry IS a community. Industry can advance technology, and make cool stuff. Community is a great thing, but a trade show IS an industry event. Meanwhile, I DO wear a tie monday-friday, but its for school.
  • We had to increase the prices to afford a nicer venue - the one we held it at last year was lousy for holding conferences. We decided that a $25/day increase would be acceptable for decent sized conference rooms without posts in the middle of them.
    The price for students is actually better this year - last year it was $100 for 2 days of conferences, this year it's the same price for 3 days.

    Remember though, preregistration ends tomorrow...after that the prices do go up since we will be commited on our badgestock amounts and other such items.

    --
    Blake Sorensen
    Registration Coordinator
    1999 Atlanta Linux Showcase
  • You know, I'm going to be in Austin that week. I thought about driving out there, but according to MapQuest, it's 529 miles. Nope. Sorry. I can't get out of my previous engagement(a wedding), so I won't make it. The first really close conference, and I can't make it :(.
  • how the hell does my obviously satirical post get marked as 0-Flamebait, but a halfway silly one liner about FreeBSD pulls a 2-Funny?

    I swear, I get more and more sick of the /. moderators daily. I can't wait until http://semaj.org is finished and there can be a place for these discussions without the shitty /. moderators.
  • it's just that simple. i want free shit.

    btw, first post
    -Andy Martin
  • One side of me says: More dart guns, more high power hardware to drool over, more freebies (I WANT A SuSe shirt, damn it. That lizard is cool) and scantily clad she/he-geeks.

    On the other hand, a lecture on 'Linux in the enterprise' might be nice, or even one covering 'Linux in embedded and RT microcontrollers'

    We might get the vendors(Compaq/Alpha, VA, etc) to give specific attention to enterprise-wide Linux-only solutions. Most *nix guys aren't good salesmen, so when they go back to the office and propose 'Linux' to the PHB, a little constructive prep won't hurt.

    Oh, yeah. Did I mention that I want a LOT of freebies?
  • I'd really like to attend some of these shows, but I haven't seen one yet in the Pacific Northwest. I just can't afford to go to NYC or NC, and I doubt my company would want to foot the bill. Still, you never know until you ask, eh?

    Anyhow, when will there be a Linux show in the Pacific Northwest? We have lots of computer-related industry here, trees, ocean, mountains...as well as tons of microbreweries. What more could you ask for?

    --
    Interested in XFMail? New XFMail home page [slappy.org]

  • I would love more centrally located conferences. As a student, I can barely afford a hotel room in another city, much less conference fees and a hotel room AND trip money.

    Maybe something in Texas? ;)

    I imagine Europeans have this same sort of problem, but a bit bigger since a trans-atlantic ticket is more than a Texas-to-Georgia ticket.
  • How about a show outside America? I'd like to suggest Dublin's The Point because
    a) I live right beside it.
    er...
    b) they run their, um, stuff on Linux.
  • Free stuff is good. I like free stuff.

    That and yet another excuse to drink w/ fellow geeks.

    Playing networked games is always cool too.

    The seminars remind me a bit too much of groupies idolizing rock stars.

  • 1. Free stuff. Let's face it, don't we all?

    2. A chance to put names to faces. That means
    anything that'll encourage people to meet &
    talk to others - a good (see point 1 ;) bar
    is always a good start.

    3. Decent representation. A booth staffed by
    people who can't answer your questions is
    really no good.

    4. A good atmosphere. A bit more of a community
    feel than your average "Industry" conference.
    Although those who are used to wearing a tie
    may be less bothered by that, of course.
  • I think it is an excuse to get drunk or something (j/k).

    Getting people together face-to-face is a great way in this industry to get people out from behind their x-terms and out into the world. Face-to-face communication is great for creativity (no, I have nothing to base that on).

    The drinking part acts only as the carrot on the stick.


    -AP
  • I would like to see a talk that did more than give a manager-level talk. Maybe I attended the wrong talks, but I have yet to hear a speaker give a "here is how to write an app in ..." talk.

    For instance, a talk on how to program in perl-gtk, or generate cools graphics with gimp where the speaker actually did it in the class would be cool.

    Since this is open source, if I want to understand HOW it works, I can read the code! :O

    I want to see the package used!

    Just my thoughts... if I pay hundreds of dollars I want to get something worthwhile.
  • that's right, models! gyrating barely clad chicks between decked out alpha and ppc boxes, a dream come true. or put them in a refridgerated area with some penguins; the pengiuns will be nice and comfy and you can image why i think the girls should be kept in a cold enviroment. :P
  • Why not Dallas? this area is a huge technology area and then I wouldn't have to travel?

    If a show does come to dallas I'd be happy to put up a few geeks for a couple of days =] hear that Rob, Free room and board!

    Seriously though, the most appealing aspect of a conferecnce for me would be meeting people in the Linux industry.



  • >On the other hand, a lecture on 'Linux in the enterprise' might be nice,
    >or even one covering 'Linux in embedded and RT microcontrollers'

    That reminds me of one other wish-item: Lectures/speeches that concentrate on where we'll be in $num years time,
    possible future applications for $technology, etc. Let's face it, a glimpse of the future is always kinda motivating;
    why else would we watch "Tomorrow's World", read Sci-Fi and so on?
  • I just want one here in the Mile High City ;)

    MoNsTeR
  • I don't know about the second Linux World Conf/Expo, but the first one really failed in the Birds-of-a-Feather sessions. They were all on the same night, in the same room. If done right, this can (and should) be a central part of a conference.

    --

  • 1.) You can meet developers, sysadmins, businessmen, and the like from all over the world. This extends your connections and enables you to learn from others.

    2.) You learn about new products and services being offered by hundreds of different companies.
    3.) You gain more technical knowledge through various seminars and tutorials.

    4.) You have the opportunity to ask questions of representatives from companies and development projects that you might not otherwise be able to ask.

    5.) You get free stuff.

    6.) And overall, you begin to get the larger picture of what's going on in the community. This can be very inspirational...causing mass excitement to build inside you, feeling that when you leave the conference you are ready to take on the world...

    --Jamin Philip Gray
    jamin@DoLinux.org

  • In a perfect world... (Score:3)

    by SLOfuse ( 68448 ) on Tuesday September 14, 1999 @01:16AM (#1683382)
    What I want is a conference that doesn't cost
    a fortune to get to, stay at, attend, or even
    exhibit at. The prices have gone up up up.
    Some of these (now wealthy) sponsors *could*
    help pay (more of) the show's costs - then the
    shows could be run as non-profit (yeah, right).
    For me, the ideal show would be held in
    Kansas City, Missouri, cost $25 a day for
    the conference, $100 per full-day tutorial,
    10x10 exhibitor's booth space would be $1000,
    and oh yeah, would feature keynotes by
    Linus Torvalds and "Maddog" Hall. I guarantee
    any size hall would be packed!
  • The topic says it. Lets see more of these Linux meetings, on a scale that perhaps is not so *huge* that you can't get anything done for the utter MASSES of people. Its like state fairs versus county fairs. Sure you can find a few rides at the state fair that you can't at the county fair, but other than those few, who wants to stand in lines for the other rides, when they are much more accessable at the county fairs. You follow me?

  • What about FreeBSD?
  • Actually it was LinuxWorld that moved from DC to New York. (Linux Expo is a different show)
  • All these excellent Linux conferences! Any suggestions as to which would be appropriate (some technical aspect, some reasonable price, etc) for a small to medium sized local student ACM chapter in the Northeast US?
  • Quick Reference:
    Reflections|Projections 1999: Conference Page [uiuc.edu]
    Corporate Registration for Job Fair and/or Sponsorship [uiuc.edu]
    MechMania V: Vengaence Of The Slain: Programming Contest [uiuc.edu]

    Basic information about Reflections|Projections 1999:

    This year from Friday, October 8 to Sunday, October 10, ACM will be holding its fifth annual Midwest student computing conference, Reflections | Projections. Reflections | Projections offers students from all over the Midwest a chance to interact with computer industry professionals and peek into the future of computing. In past years such noteworthy speakers as Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple, and Bjarne Stroustrup, inventor of C++, have spoken at the conference.

    This year conference once again is hosting many great speakers. This year's keynote speaker is Larry Tesler. Tesler is the founder of Stagecast Software, which makes interactive simulation software. Previously, he was the Vice President of Internet Platforms at Apple Computer. At Apple he made significant contributions to the OpenDoc Object Model, Applescript, the Newton, along with a number of other major products. Previous to his time at Apple, Tesler was a researcher at the Xerox's Palo Alto Research Center, where he and his fellow researchers set the stage for a large amount of what is now modern computing. In addition to Tesler's keynote address, several other extremely noteworthy speakers will be attending the conference. Included amongst these speakers are Michael Abrash, one of the original authors of Quake, Eric Allman, inventor of Sendmail, Theo de Raadt, head of the OpenBSD project, Guido van Rossum, creator of the Python programming language, Astro Tellar, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning expert and author of the novel "Exegesis", and many, many more. In addition to the talks, there shall be several panels, a programming contest, and a very large job fair to be held on Friday the 8th in the Illini Union.

    For complete information about the conference, take a look at http://www.acm.uiuc.edu/conference. Online registration is available there. The registration fee is $15, which includes entrance to all conference events, meals for the weekend, inclusion of your resume in the conference resume book, and a t-shirt.

    Basic information about MechMania V: Vengaence Of The Slain:

    Sponsored by Trilogy [trilogy.com].

    One of the first major battles of, what are now called, the clan wars occurred within a small star system located in neutral space between clan territories. Each of the 16 Clans were separated by a highly toxic nebula, and located near the center was a rouge star system. The star of this system was highly unstable and the shield technology of the day could not stop the harmful array of cosmic rays. In such harmful conditions space battles had to be short and few. But within this star system was a lone forest planet?

    Immediately each clan staked out territorities on this planet starting a new type of warfare, MechWar. The war continued for several years until a new breed of Mech was introduced. Warriors were adapted with major amounts of cerebral implants, leaving them more machine then human.

    After over 50 years of war, all remaining members of the clans were driven out of known space. Most areas of clan space were terraformed and colonized within five years, leaving large amounts of scrap metal piling up in the nebula. One company decided they could make a killing by fitting ships with heavy shielding and collecting the scrap metal for recycling.

    Everything was perfectly fine till they uncovered a warehouse buried under the sand on that small war-stricken planet. Still operating on backup power a signal was broadcast on all bands announcing the intrusion into the clan warehouse. None of the salvage team was ever seen again.

    For more information see: http://www.acm.uiuc.edu/mechmania/ [uiuc.edu]

  • Lessee, at the first LinuxWorld Expo I talked to a gentleman who confided that even though his company made a database product that was 'Red Hat Certified', all the development was done on Debian boxes; at the latest I spoke at length with a gentleman from Motorola about their current experiments with moving to RT Linux for their embedded products (availabitilty of source is something they're used to paying 10's or 100's of thousands for); I got to try to convince an engineer from SGI that Debian wasn't a flash in the pan distro, and would be around for awhile. I find business fascinating, and it's great to be able to talk to these people and find out what's going on behind the scenes.

    Perhaps best of all, though, is that I got to meet many of the people whose names I'm always seeing around the net. Can't beat it with a stick.

  • I think I may have convinced my company to send me to the Atlanta Linux Showcase this October. I've never attended a conference before, and I have no idea what to wear. Not that I spend too much time worrying about my appearance or anything, but I'd hate to show up in jeans and a t-shirt if everyone else is in a suit and tie, or vice versa. It's hard enough for me to be in a crowd of people - sticking out like a sore thumb would make me feel even more uncomfortable. Any advice?
  • The Point sounds good to me :) ooohh and free beer - sod the badges and t-shirts. Free beer will attract thousands, even if they've never heard of Linux. So there you go, the organisers are happy if the hall is full and the ppl going are happy because of all the beer^H^H^H^H^H linux related stuff.
  • when I say that we want more FREE T-Shirts!

    (That's free as in beer, btw.)

    Or cheap shirts at least. Hope you guys bring the new Slashdot shirts to ALS.
  • I'd like to see a show in the midwest. The closest thing we've had to a conference is rootshell and 2600 meetings.

    --
  • What I really want from shows are good, inexpesnive local shows that include:

    BOFS
    when people get together things happen

    Vendors
    with knowledgable folks on the floor not sales 'droids

    Solid Presenters
    there are a *lot* of folks out there working on cool stuff, the more it gets shared the better off all of us are

    Quicky/WIP sessions
    some people aren't comfortable doing a big presentation, a series of 10-20 minute presentations about projects in process are a cool way to do things

    LUG participation
    install fests, local interest stuff, and an info booth

  • SysAdmin's View... (or, what I'd really like) (Score:4)

    by trims ( 10010 ) on Tuesday September 14, 1999 @01:35AM (#1683399) Homepage

    This is admittedly going to be biased, because I'm a full-time SysAdmin and Network Architect, which is probably a bit different than the typical /.-er.

    1. Sessions where we can give vendors feedback on their products. I'd love it if most of the vendors (or say, a small group of 3-4 vendors who sell very similar things) had a 1 hour or so session where they asked the audience: What do You Want? What are you missing from our current lineups? Where should we go? Doing this in a room with 50-60 other like-minded individuals is so much more productive than talking to one of the people at some booth 1-to-1. To use a marketing buzzword, you get alot more "synergy".
    2. Vendors who aren't solely concentrated on selling Linux. I know it's nice to have IBM there, but the people in most of the booths tend to be extremely focused on Linux. While this is nice, few of us run Linux-only shops. I want to know how to run X server/OS with Y server/OS with Z application. People who I can talk about heterogeneous offerings from the same company are really needed.
    3. Networking products that run under Linux. I know this isn't something the show organizers can do, but dammit, I want all those network management tools to work on Linux, too. It's taking the tools vendors WAYYYYY too long to port.
    4. Real BOFs. The BOFs are starting to become lecture-like. A step in the right direction is to do away with the "designated speaker" thing at a BOF; make the emphasis the topic, and not the person who's going to be leading it.
    5. PUT THE CONFERENCES IN PLACES THAT MAKE SENSE, AT TIMES THAT MAKE SENSE. No one wants to go to New Orleans in mid-July (hello, USENIX?) Or Seattle in mid-March. Yet idiots schedule conferences then. Tip: put conferences in the South from Oct-April, and in the North May-Sept. And please, put them near interesting things. When you have the conference completely across town from anything interesting, it really sucks. Geeks need to get out, too, and having to taxi all over the place is a royal pain.
    6. Try to encourage people to have SMALLER post-conference thingys. The RedHat parties were fun, but seriously, I have a lot more fun with 2 dozen people than 200. And I get alot more out of them.

    Oh, and as much as everyone likes the bikini girls holding the new Server X2000, please don't. Eye candy is fine, but don't insult my intelligence, and don't pander to me. Also, it's a bit like throwing a glass of water in the face of a man dying of dehydration. :-)

    -Erik

  • About the times they schedule conferences...

    Wouldn't that involve factors such as discounted
    rates from the convention centers (for being
    in such a lousy time frame :-) or what's left
    over after everybody grabs other time frames?

  • Well, the first thing that comes to mind is that perhaps it would be nice to have a conference that traveled around the country (world? nah, be better to stick to the same nation for ease of communication purposes). Anyone remember those expos that slowly progressed around the U.S. during the course of two or three months or so? It sure would be nice to only have to travel to a place within the state you live in rather than clear across the country.

    The reason for wanting a single expo that ran shows across the nation is two-fold.. the one I just stated and for the simple fact that it would be nice if we knew that we were all getting around the same content, rather than having a few dozen local shows organized by different people, each with a slightly different agenda.

    Not only that, but how many of us are actually going to attend all the different expos all over the place at different times in the year, just to "see it all"? I myself can only set aside so much vacation time and I like to spend it visiting girlies I know to be receptive rather than hoping there might be some at the latest Linux expo.

    While it would be nice to have several locations in each state, I would be happy with one centralized, hospitable location in each of teh fifty states. That would make it semi-easy on most, as opposed to easy for people who want booths only at a single show and hard for people who want to see them because it's in say, New York, while they live in Texas.

    That aside, what I really want is for Dell to set up a booth to explain why their Linux systems cost more on average than their corresponding Windows systems (same hardware, different software), especially since they only use Winmodems (who needs a Linux "desktop" with no modem? if I have to put it in myself, what am I paying these guys for?). They could also explain why their Web site only lets you put MS "Intelli"mice on your Linux systems even though they say they have Logitech stuff available.

    A presentation by Gillian Anderson wouldn't be so bad either. To think they originally wanted some dumb blonde with big tits for that role on the X-Files..

  • you know what would be cool! (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward
    A conference at a place like Cedar Point! Like have a huge amusement park all to ourselves for a couple days! It would be too cool to be standing in line with nothing but Linux users on all sides! And on top of that, Cedar Point is breaking their own highest coaster record next year! That's what I want to see. A conference that is the funnest conference ever! ** Me
  • and free stuff.
    Really though, I get at least one conference invitation a week and I pretty much have to throw them all away because of the $500++ prices involved. I know a lot of geeks make a lot of money but most of us have to travel to and from the conference, plus hotel, rental car or gas, and food. It becomes a hell of an expense to attend something I could get a lot out of and I usually end up not going. One day I'll be able to talk my boss into sending me on the company's dime but not anytime soon I'm afraid.


  • Um... Check out http://www.alug.org/amlc There is a "small" one on the 18th of this month....



    https://www.mav.net/teddyr/syousif/ [mav.net]
  • I don't work for a large company that can foot my bill. But I could come up with $100, maybe, to get in and eat. I'll sleep in my VW.

    But to go with my free Redhat shirt, I want a $20 copy of 6.0 for SPARC. I want to be able to buy cool stuff for cheaper than I can on the net. Wouldn't that be great?

    Also, I would love to have a sermon about why Linux is good for your business. I want to be able to take my boss and have him hear it from someone with a big name that even the only semi-techie would know.

    Or, the mostly naked women. Or not.
  • flamebait - you sir must have no nostrils. :)
  • Having well designed and implemented conference track sessions are IMHO key to not only a successful conference but to repeat attendees(sp?) And it's not only due to the guest speaker, but you are able to network with other's that have alot of the same issues and questions that you have. When the conference is over, and your working on implementing what you saw, it's not the speaker that's going to help you as much as those that you've met.

    Programming tracks, Kernel tracks, Network Admin Track, Corporate track, etc.

    The corporate track should be where the "bosses" are all locked in, and all the marketing reps for the different companies, that 6 months ago though linux was treatable with penicillin, are all able to slap each other on the back for being leading, no wait, cutting, hold on!, BLEEDING edge.

    Screw the free stuff, if i want something for free, i'll goto a soup kitchen and salvation army! On the otherhand, a well stocked book/clothing/gadget's booth would make a killing!

    And yes, I know, it's a sad day when someone actually turns a profit with linux. But Just like Santa Claus I'm sure you'll get over it.


  • of Science Fiction Conferences.

    One thing that really gets me is the price of these computer conferences, especially Linux ones. I've help run and/or attend SF cons up and down the East Coast and across Quebec and Ontario. Some of these events bring in guests that charge thousands of dollars for speakers fees, vast amounts of convention space and using up most or all of the rooms at local hotels. We have hospitality suites for all members with either cheap or free beverages both alchoholic and non, munchies, and stuff like hotdogs and pizza pockets. We have up to 5 tracks of simultanious programming and free static displays for local clubs. And more often than not, a wonderful program book.

    We have all this, and we don't have mega-corperations buying huge tracks of land...and how much do we charge? Max $50.00. Who is making all the money?!?!?!

    ttyl
    Farrell McGovern
    Co-Chair and founder: CAN-CON SF conference
    Have worked on/Gophered at over 50 conferences
  • I would like to see non-profits/Liux community organizations (as opposed to the folks who actually make money from this) be allowed free booth space and attendance to the show.
    I get tired of reading about some of the organizations that have made linux what it is having to beg for sponsership or not attending the shows.

  • I want to be shot at [russnelson.com] by CmdrTaco!
  • It's LinuxExpo [itevents.co.uk] this October in London, so we've yet got to really experience first-hand if the poor among us couldn't travel to the States.

    But things I'd like to see? Hmm...

    • Distro people there, and a good debate about the merits of various distributions and packaging methods employed, by the people who set it all up - Patrick Volkerding et al.
    • People like Oracle, IBM, etc. giving away noncommercial freebies of their software to play with - same sort of thing Sun did at their recent DevDays (I was at the London one, we got a big bag full of things to play with, white papers et al).
    • T-shirts. T-shirts are good.
    I'm at a Sun ISP seminar tomorrow night and plan to ask them about their Linux involvement, as the main reason we ditched Slowaris was because Linux offered cheaper and better performance. Talking to hardware vendors about their plans for Linux would be a general plus to a show I guess.

    ...and finish it all off with a competition - the oldest computer to run Linux ;)

  • Presentation Notes for all! (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward
    I'd like to see the presentation notes made available to everyone on the web (for free, of course). This is not yet the case at any of the Linux Conferences. I attended JavaOne and whether you paid to attend the conference or not the notes were and still are available on the web. I'd like to see the Linux conferences extend this to include tutorials and BOFs. I brought this point up before with respect to the O'Reilly Open Source Conference but apparently Tim not Rob felt this issue important enough for Tim to respond.

  • Re:you know what would be cool! (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward
    Hey, being local to the area, I like the idea. Wonder if we could get enough people to get the back just to ourselves.

    Imaging waiting in line for the newest and greatest roller coaster and talking in your friendly kernel developers?

    Woohoo!
  • So you want the 3 Free B's
    Free Babes
    Free Booze
    Free-bies

    I see a pattern here

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